Mwiza Nakamba is a lusaka based, self-taught mixed media artist and medical student whose practice explores femininity through portraiture. Working across painting, drawing, and mixed media, she is interested in the ways women navigate the world, particularly through the rituals of beauty, adornment, and self-presentation.
Mwiza’s work examines beauty as more than appearance. She approaches it as a language through which women express identity, negotiate expectation, seek protection, celebrate themselves, and relate to the world around them. Drawing inspiration from the everyday rituals of doing hair, applying makeup, dressing, and preparing oneself, Mwiza creates portraits that consider the emotional, cultural, and social meanings these acts carry.
During her time at LuCAC, she explored the theme of “Constructing Ourselves: Beauty, Adornment, and the Contemporary Black African Woman Uku Ipanga Panga (‘to make yourself’/’to adorn yourself’)”. She shared insights into her work and ongoing investigations.
